Half-Bloods
by BreDaughterOfApollo
Summary: Calida was orphaned since she was a baby. She's lived a simple life, up until strange things started happening. Voices in her head, strange people, and a weird camp all point in one direction: she's a demigod. Join Calida and her new friends on a fantastical adventure filled with action, romance, humor, and a sassy,talking deer! Mainly OC, some main characters will be included.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: We do not own PJO, all rights belong to Rick Riordan. We are purely using the PJO story as inspiration for our own story. Some characters from the story will make an appearance, some won't, but it is mainly OCs. We have not read any of the books, so don't criticize us for not directly following the storyline. Thanks.

"What must you suggest we do? Abandon her in the woods?"

"We cannot simply take her with us, Aphrodite. She is a mortal being. What could we possibly do with a mortal child? She could not even make it into Olympus."

Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, held a very small child in her pale, soft arms. She stroked its small tuft of brown hair and kissed it gently on the forehead.

"Calida," she whispered to it.

"Pardon?" Artemis asked.

Aphrodite looked at the goddess of the wild and moon with a look of longing.

"I shall name her Calida. 'Most beautiful,' it means. She will be blessed with the utmost amount of beauty my powers could allow."

Artemis swept her shawl behind her shouloers and gazed at Aphrodite and the child.

"She is merely an orphan child. We can leave her with an elderly couple."

Aphrodite glanced at Artemis and cuddled the child closer to her.

"I refuse. Is it truly possible that we came across this child because of mere coincidence?"

"Why, yes, it is−"

"I do not believe that is true. I am going to take her with me. To Olympus."

"But you cannot do that. She is a mortal. You are very well aware that mortals cannot travel into Olympus."

Aphrodite once again gazed lovingly at Calida.

"Oh, but she can. There is one way to allow her access into Olympus."

Artemis wore a stern look.

"You cannot possibly be serious, Aphrodite."

"Yes. I am. I could perform the ritual to make her into a demigod. It has worked plenty of times."

"The ritual requires two godlike deities. Where are you going to find another one who will accept this ridiculous plan?"

Aphrodite smiled at the other goddess.

Artemis frowned.

"Absolutely not," she said sternly.

Aphrodite hurried to Artemis and grabbed her shoulder.

"Please, Artemis. None of the other gods or goddesses could agree to this. You are the only one available to it."

Artemis did not move.

"Just look at her," Aphrodite begged.

The other goddess quietly glanced down at the cooing baby. It looked back up at her with its green eyes and waved its little fists at her. It gurgled and made a mumbling noise that sounded like "Mama."

Aphrodite's face lit up.

"She called you mother! How could you possibly refuse to your own child?"

"Quit being immature, Aphrodite. She is not my child. I will not perform this ritual for this mortal."

Aphrodite's face sank. She clutched the child to her breast and stared at Artemis.

"…You shall not be able to conceive your own child anyways. This might be your only chance."

Artemis stopped and was silent. The two goddesses stared at each other in a silent argument.

"My role as a maiden does not affect this child."

"Haven't you always wanted a child of your own? You could be her mother. We could both be her mothers. We could watch down on her as she grows in the mortal world, and once she is old enough, she could finally be able to meet her guardians."

Artemis was quiet once again.

"Orion would want you to do it," Aphrodite said softly.

Tears rose into the eyes of Artemis at the mention of her dead lover. She turned away from the two and stared up into the sky. The constellation of Orion glowed down at her as she received a message.

"_The child has a destiny. Her destiny is intertwined with yours and Aphrodite's. The stars have told me, my love. Trust Aphrodite. This is what you must do."_

Artemis took a long intake of air and turned back to Aphrodite and Calida.

"I shall do it."

Aphrodite made a sound of extreme joy and took Artemis' hand in hers.

"She will grow to be just like you, Artemis. I can forsee it already."

"Let us just perform the ritual."

Aphrodite disappeared in a cloud of mist along with the child. Artemis took one last look at the sky and whispered to the stars.

"I hope that you are correct, my love."

-Tell me what you think so far, as this is my friend's first story, all comments good or bad are encouraged. Please review! Thank You.

Love, Breanna & Baylee


	2. Meet the Characters

Here is a list of the characters and a brief bio.

* * *

Name: Calida

Parentage: Aphrodite and Artemis

Age: 15

Bio: When she was only a few weeks old, her parents abandoned her in a forest. The goddesses Aphrodite and Artemis found her, and Aphrodite, against Artemis' advice, wished to keep her. But Calida was mortal, so Aphrodite could not take her back to Olympus with her. Because of this, Aphrodite suggested that she and Artemis perform a frowned-upon ritual which involved both goddesses investing their powers into the child, creating a demigod. After the ritual, they realized that they could not take her back to Olympus, so they had her safely put in a California orphanage, where she grew up.

Name: Arianna "AJ" James

Parentage: Ares and Apollo

Age: 15

Bio: A lot like Calida, Arianna was found abandoned on the beach of Australia at only a couple of weeks old. The only difference was that she was found by the gods Ares and Apollo. Apollo felt connected to the child and begged Ares to perform the ritual that would make her a demigod. After a lot of begging and hesitation they performed the ritual and left her with a nice and lovely family near the shore wear she was found. They have both watched over the family for years making sure their daughter was safe.

* * *

We will be posting more of these whenever a new main character is introduced in the story.-Thanks!


	3. Chapter 1

Remember we don't own PJO

* * *

Calida awoke with a start. Her forehead had dotted with sweat and her hair had matted to her pillow.

The bedroom that she had shared with another orphan was pitch black except for a sliver of light that shone through the window from the moon.

Sighing, Calida wiped her forehead with her cold sheet and sat up.

The girl beneath her, an 11-year old named Sophia, slept soundly.

Calida climbed down the bunk bed and stretched. She didn't want to disturb Sophia from her sleep, so she tiptoed around the room to the window. She sat down on the seat under the window and stared out of it.

Calida suffered from insomnia. She couldn't remember a time that she had ever slept without having to wake up in the middle of the night or ever even being able to sleep at all. She has moved from room to room in the orphanage because she kept disturbing her old roommates by making noise at night.

Miss Carter, the main caretaker of the orphanage, didn't have the money to prescribe sleeping pills to Calida. Many of the orphans needed some sort of medication, but only a few were ever able to get it. The orphanage was poor and big enough as it is.

As she looked out the window, Calida listened to the quiet sounds of people chattering below the building. She could make out words such as "potato" and "asshole."

Calida smiled to herself, hoping that those words weren't used in the same context.

"_Calida,_" someone whispered from behind her.

Thinking Sophia might have woken up, Calida turned around and glanced at the bunk bed.

Sophia was sleeping deeply. She turned over in her sleep and faced the wall.

Strange. Sophia never had a tendency to talk in her sleep. Calida was sure that someone had just uttered her name.

"_Calidaaaaaaa,_" the voice whispered, more drawn out.

"Miss Carter?" Calida asked.

No answer.

"Who's there?" she asked, a little louder.

Still no answer.

Suddenly, the voice came back. It seemed to resonate directly from the back of Calida's mind.

_"Calida. Can you hear me, my child?"_

"Yes, I can hear you. Who are you? How can you talk to me like this?" Calida asked aloud suspiciously.

_"The answer for your question is one that you might not believe."_

"Probably not."

Calida paused.

"Wait, what am I doing? I'm hearing voices in my head now, is that it? My insomnia must have gotten pretty bad for me to actually start hearing things."

_"You are not hearing things. I am a real voice."_

"Real voice, my ass."

"Calida, please be quiet. I'm trying to sleep."

Sophia had woken up. She was staring at Calida with tired, half-open eyes.

"Oh. Uh, sorry, Sophia. I just had trouble sleeping," Calida said.

"Yeah, I know."

Calida silently climbed back up the ladder of her bunk bed and slipped under her covers. The voice didn't return.

* * *

We know this chapter is short but eventually they will get longer. Please review. Thank You


	4. Chapter 2

I don't own PJO, and if Australian women don't say "mate", sorry but in this story they do just to clear that up for you guys.

"As we all know, the three main gods are Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. The three of them are brothers, the sons of Cronus. Can anyone tell me their names in Roman?"

Alexis, the quiet, smart girl that sat in the back of the class, raised her hand slowly.

"I think Zeus' is Jupiter," she said quietly.

Calida's English teacher smiled.

"Yes! Any other names?" she asked.

"Poseidon's is Neptune," some kid in the front called out.

"That's correct, Jason! What about Hades?"

The room was silent.

_"Calida."_

Shit.

_"Calida. His name is said as Pluto in the Roman language."_

"Uh, Pluto?" Calida said to the teacher.

"Very good, Calida! Yes, these gods were beloved by both the Greeks and the Romans. Though called by different names, they had the same purpose in both languages…"

Calida leaned back in her seat. She knew she was going slightly insane, but at least the voice in her head was smart.

The lesson droned on, with the teacher blabbing about Greek gods and how they married their own cousins or something. Calida really didn't care; she was much too tired to pay attention anyway. She hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night because she was afraid the voice would come back again.

Along with a few other kids in her class, Calida decided to try and sleep during the lesson. She set her head down on her desk and started dozing off.

_"Calida. Pay attention. This will be very useful eventually."_

She ignored it. She didn't need that stupid voice controlling her life.

_"Calida."_

Suddenly, Calida felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. It felt as if someone had hit her.

She jerked up and looked behind her. She sat in the corner, and the teacher was up in the front of the room.

_"I said pay attention. You cannot ignore me like that."_

_ Jesus_, Calida thought. _I'll pay attention._

"…and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and wilderness. She and her twin brother Apollo, the god of medicine and music, were always competing to see who was the better archer. This had caused a disasterous consequence with Artemis' lover, Orion. She had accidentally killed him because of this."

"That sucks," another guy in the class said.

"It does suck. Apollo was quite known in Olympus for being a bit impulsive. This caused a few problems later on. Now, as we go to the next slide of the PowerPoint, we are moving on to the goddess Aphrodite."

The teacher pressed a button on her little remote, and the slide turned to a picture of a very pretty blonde woman.

"Aphrodite, or Venus in Roman, is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She is often seen as the goddess of love and beauty. Because of this, she had taken many lovers in her life. She had a few children, but the most famous of them all would be Eros, or Cupid−"

Suddenly, the door of the classroom opened and the principal of the school strolled in, with a girl trailing behind him.

"Afternoon, Mrs. Weber. Sorry for the interruption. What have I interrupted?" the principal asked.

The teacher smiled at him. "We were just discussing the Greek gods and goddesses, Mr. Arnold. The class very much seems to be into it," she ended with a sarcastic note.

She whacked the desk of a sleeping student, who jerked his head up and pretended to have been paying attention the whole time.

The class snickered at him, along with the principal.

"I can see that they think that this subject is very interesting. You know, personally I think that Hades is extremely underestimated. He's the god of the underworld. I mean, that's a pretty big responsibility. He handles that very well. He's not completely a bad guy, you know?" the principal said.

Mrs. Weber sat on the stool at the front of her classroom.

"I agree. Hades wasn't born a bad guy. Maybe he just had a bout of bad luck in his life."

Principal Arnold smiled and adjusted his tie.

"Absolutely. In addition, his brother Poseidon was kind of a jerk in the sense that−"

The girl behind him cleared her throat loudly.

The principal laughed. "I apologize! I completely forgot the reason why I'm here. Mrs. Weber, you have a new student in 3rd period. People, this is Arianna James. She is an exchange student all the way from Australia."

Arianna waved her hand to the class and smiled.

"Say something! With your accent!" some kid yelled.

"Uh, all right. I like to be called AJ. That good enough for you, mate?"

The class chattered to each other, confirming the stereotype that Australians say "mate."

Calida didn't feel very impressed. This girl was just another kid at her already-crowded school. The others will get over it within a month or two.

"You have your new school schedule, right?" the principal asked Arianna.

She held it up to him. "Yeah."

He patted her on the shoulder. "Well, here you are. Good luck. People, don't be too hard on the new kid, all right?"

He waved to the class and left.

"You're stuck with us now, Miss James," announced Mrs. Weber. "Now, let's see…you can sit over there, next to Ryan. Ryan, raise your hand."

The guy who was sleeping earlier put up his hand lazily. Arianna walked to the desk next to him and sat down.

Mrs. Weber continued the lesson by talking about the children of the main gods and their sad or creepy stories. Calida tried to pay attention, only because she didn't want that voice in her head slapping her again.

Eventually the class ended, as Calida was packing up her supplies, Arianna came over and said, "'ello mate, what's your name?"

"Uh, Calida," she responded.

"So, you got a last name, mate?" Arianna questioned.

"No, actually. I'm an orphan, and I've been living at the Carter House since I was a few months old. The woman who runs the orphanage says I arrived there with only a first name."

"That's kind of weird. I've never 'eard of someone with only a first name."

Calida smiled bitterly. "Of course you haven't. It makes me some kind of freak."

Arianna frowned. "Sorry, mate. I didn't mean it like that. In Australia, we don't hear about that sort of thing."

"It's all right. I mean, you're new. You don't know anyone yet."

"Yeah. Sorry again."

Calida nodded and walked out of the classroom to her next class.

"_You might possibly want to befriend this new student. You and her have something in common."_

Calida scoffed. "I don't think so. She's just the new kid trying to make friends. Trust me, she doesn't want me as a friend."


	5. Authors' Note

We're back! Yay!

Sorry for the long wait. But just to clarify our story. The dialogue for Castor can be seen as sort of racist, because he speaks as if he were a black man from the ghetto. We don't mean any harm by this; we just feel that this is how he should speak. Please, no negative comments about it. We only wish for you guys to enjoy our story, and our characters. Thank you, and we will be updating shortly.

* * *

-Baylee and Breanna


	6. Chapter 3

A few weeks later, Calida was sitting at her desk in the orphanage, trying to focus on homework. Her tired brain just couldn't seem to grasp the basics of factoring.

Someone knocked on the frame of the door. Calida turned her head slightly and saw Miss Carter standing there.

"Hi, sweetie. Everything all right?" she asked, her slightly stern tone hinting sweetness.

"Hey, Miss C. Just doing a little homework."

"Math?"

Calida nodded her head sadly.

Miss Carter smiled sympathetically and walked to Calida's desk.

"How are you doing in that class, by the way?" she asked.

Calida hesitated.

"Um…a C, I think."

Miss Carter looks at her with quiet concern.

"I'm sorry, Miss Carter! I try, I really do! I try to learn and focus on the stuff, but my brain doesn't want to! It's like I have ADHD or something! And with my insomnia, it makes focusing in school really hard!" Calida rushed to explain.

"I understand that, honey. Maybe you just need to try a teensy bit harder."

Calida nodded frantically. "I will. I swear. I'll try as hard as I can."

"Now, I'm not asking you to burn yourself out. You're 15. You're a teenager, and you need to have fun too. Why don't you take a break from homework and take a walk around the forest? I do it all the time. It's very calming."

"Uh, yeah. That sounds good. Thanks, Miss Carter."

"Anytime, honey."

Miss Carter tapped Calida's desk and left.

After sitting quietly for a few seconds, Calida gathered her jacket and went downstairs to the living room. A group of little orphans were gathered around the TV, watching _Spongebob._

Calida opened the front door and walked into the cold fall air. She headed directly down the road to the forest. The tall sycamores towered over her and slightly blocked out the afternoon sun.

It _was _relaxing. There was nothing to listen to but the sounds of nature and the crunching of laves under Calida's Converse.

Some red birds flew by overhead. A rabbit ran past and jumped into a small hole in an overturned log.

Calida had never seen the wildlife before. As a child, she was warned to stay away from the woods, as it could be dangerous at night. She was always scared to go into the woods, but she didn't feel scared at this time.

Suddenly, something poked its head out of the bushes and looked directly at Calida.

It was a deer. It had peach-colored fur and grand antlers.

"A deer, huh? You're a pretty one," Calida said to it.

It stared at her, unblinking.

Calida jokingly raised an eyebrow at it.

"Pretty?"

Someone said something. Calida looked around her, and no one else was there.

"You callin' me pretty?"

Calida looked back to the deer. It was still staring at her intently.

"You heard that, right?" she asked.

The deer took a step out of the bushes.

"All right. First up, no callin' me pretty. Obviously, I'm a _guy. _Guys ain't pretty. Guys are hot."

It talked.

Calida gaped at the deer.

"Did you just-"

"Yeah, I did. Man, Calida! You needa keep your ears open!"

"Holy shit," Calida whispered. "The deer talked. It opened its mouth, and _words _came out! They're not supposed to do that! You're not supposed to do that!"

"Of course deer ain't supposed to talk! I'm a special deer!"

"Special…of course. I need medication. I'm crazy. I'm crazy! I thought the voices were one thing, but talking animals? I should turn myself in to the asylum. Talking animals, my god, I am _screwed _up!"

"Take a fricking chill pill! You ain't crazy!" the deer shouted.

"Then how are you making words?"

The deer strolled to a fallen tree. He stomped on the ground with one of his front feet.

"Sit down. I got a lot to explain," he said.

"What? No! I'm—"

Calida felt a slap to the back of her head, like what happened in her English class a while ago.

"_Go."_

"Jesus, what is happening here?" Calida asked the voice in her head.

"_He will explain everything. Trust me, darling. Listen to him."_

"…All right, fine."

Calida suspiciously walked to the log and sat down slowly.

"First, I'm not a normal deer. I'm what the people I work for call a guardian. I'm a magical animal that can talk. There's plenty of us out there. You just can't tell 'cause we're good at our job. Y'got that?"

Calida nodded, not completely comprehending who "the people he works for" are, or what his "job" is.

"Second, there's a reason that you been hearin' voices in your head for a while. It's not 'cause you're crazy. You're special," the deer said.

"I've heard that before. Please, elaborate on how I'm so 'special.'"

"A'ight, fine. You're a demigod. How's that for special?"

Calida stared at the deer, mouth open in shock.

"Normally, if I heard this from any regular person, I wouldn't believe them," she muttered. "But considering the fact that I'm hearing this from a ghetto-sounding guardian deer, I feel obligated to buy this story."

The deer snorted, which to Calida's ears sounded like some sort of laugh.

"That wasn't as hard as I was expectin'. Now we're getting somewhere."

"Well, I'm glad that this makes your job easier, but please explain this demigod thing to me. Demigods are…what?"

"Geez, girl, don't you pay attention in class? Demigods are half-gods, half mortals. One of their parents is a god, and the other one isn't. And these demigods are supposed to live on the earth and train up for their destiny. You know how you got ADHD and everything?"

"Yeah."

"You have that because of your god's heritage. It's like a defense mechanism. Your dyslexia is 'cause your brain is naturally hard-wired for Ancient Greek."

"I…guess that makes sense."

"Demigods also have a guardian animal or animal-type creature that protects them from danger. That's me."

"I—well, if you're my guardian, then tell me something about me. You must possibly know everything about me."

"You got that right. I know that you got a terrible case of insomnia, you don't do so good in school, and you got a crush on that boy in your science class. I mean, _damn, girl! _You write his name on everything! Next thing we know, you'll be writing "Nathan" right on the guy's forehead! You crazy!"

"I've known that for a long time, deer. Well, it seems you've got the guardian thing down, so I guess I'm forced to believe that. Do you have a name?"

The deer lifted up one of his hoofs and held it to Calida.

"I'm Castor."

Calida took his hoof and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Castor. I guess."

Castor laughed again.

"'I guess.' You're still confused, ain't you?"

"Yes, I am. Why are you even here? And what did you mean by 'train up for their destiny'? What's my destiny?"

"I'm glad you asked, otherwise this conversation would've been for nothin'. I'm here because it's finally time for you to start trainin'. Your destiny starts today!"

"But what is it? What am I supposed to do with my life as a demigod?"

"That's why I'm here. I'm here to take you to your destiny."

""Take me?' Where am I going?"

"Have you ever been to camp?"

"I live in an orphanage, deer. We can barely afford decent clothes."

"A'ight, geez. Well, I'm here to take you to a camp. It's a camp for special kids like y'all."

"Camp? How long will I be there?"

Castor snorted.

"You'll be there for a while. I suggest packin' some extra clothes."

"Wait, what? I'm just supposed to pack up and leave the orphanage? Leave my life?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"But—"

"Your life right now ain't real good. I know that. If you come with me to this camp, it's gonna be much more excitin'."

Calida thought about his offer. She doesn't have any friends, and this camp could be her chance to finally make some. And if she really is what the deer says she is, then it must really be important.

"…How long do I have to get ready?" she asked.

Castor lifted a front leg and looked at his arm, as if looking at a watch.

"About an hour. Your escort is supposed to get here in one and a half."

"All right. I'll go with you."

Castor stomped on the ground.

"Awesome! Hey, d'you know if they got any alfalfa in that garden down the street from your orphanage? I'm starvin'."


	7. Chapter 4

So i forgot to put this in the last chapter so here:

Disclaimer- We dont own PJO or HoO

* * *

So, who exactly is my escort to the camp?" Calida asked, sitting on the side of the road with her overstuffed suitcase sitting next to her.

Castor, who was hiding behind a bush (for fear of not being seen, as it would be strange to see a girl sitting with a deer casually standing to her) snorted.

"Oh, someone you know," he said.

"Fine, leave his/her identity a mystery if it's that fun for you. I'll keep guessing."

Castor laughed.

"A'ight. I hope they got a big trunk, 'cause I don't think I can fit in any of them four-door Sedans. I'ma pretty big boy."

On the street there were a few passing cars, but none seemed to be slowing down or in search of her.

"So, this camp," Calida said, kicking at some gravel on the road. "How many kids like me are there?"

"I dunno for sure, but probably around a few hundred. There'll be plenty of friends you can make there. But I gotta warn ya, some of the kids there won't like you. There's always someone who doesn't like you. But don't take it personally. Happens to everyone."

Calida rested her chin on her knee and huffed.

"Great. Just what I need: more kids to hate me."

"What? I ain't seen anyone who hates you."

"Well, you don't see me with friends either."

Castor was silent for a moment.

"Damn. That was deep."

Calida laughed bitterly.

"If it's true what you're saying about the camp and making new friends, then I guess I'll be fine. But even so, it's not very fun to have enemies."

"Don't I know it. Despite who I appear to be, none of the other guardians really like me much."

Calida turned around at looked at him, surprised.

"Really? You seem like a nice guy."

"Well, thank you, but the other guardians don't seem to think so. They say that I'ma judgmental stick-in-the-mud. So I guess that's the reason why I don't have any friends."

"Join the club, buddy. The kids at my school think I'm a loner and a downer. Because of that, no one likes to talk to me. Labels suck."

Castor snorted in agreement and looked around the ground for food.

Calida looked down the road and saw an upcoming black Chevy Silverado. It drove closer to the sidewalk and eventually slowed to a stop.

Castor walked out of the bush.

"Yo' ride's here. C'mon, get your stuff," he said.

Calida stood up and looked at who was sitting in the front seats. She was shocked at what she saw.

Principal Arnold was in the driver's seat, smiling warmly at Calida. What more, that new Australian girl, Arianna, was in the passenger seat, an Australian Shepherd laying on her lap.

"What the hell is going on here? That's my school's principal! What—is he…is he one of—"

Calida stopped short. Her brain had pieced together the facts. Principal Arnold became the new principal at her high school when she was a freshman last year. Calida remembered the first day she met him personally. He had already known her name, which was a bit strange to Calida at the time. Now, she realized that must have been because he was there to watch over her, like Castor.

"Principal Arnold…he's one of me? Like, a demigod or something?" she said, saying her thoughts aloud.

"Smart girl. Yeah, he's a demigod, and son of Hermes. He was sent to become your principal to watch over you at school, where I couldn't. I mean, it would be a little weird to have a deer walking around through the school's halls, am I right?" Castor said.

"So, he knew I was a demigod the whole time? He never told me?"

"Of course not! It wasn't your time yet. Now it is. Go say hi."

Calida approached the truck, and Arianna's window rolled down.

"We meet again, mate. Nice to see you," Arianna greeted.

"Uh, yeah, you too. Principal Arnold?" Calida asked.

Principal Arnold leaned forward and looked at her.

"Hello, Calida. Are you surprised?"

"Oh no, not at all. I just found out that my principal is my demigod escort to a magical camp. Not surprising for me, no," Calida said sarcastically.

Principal Arnold chuckled.

"Well, I'm sorry you couldn't have known sooner. It's a lot to take in, I know. Why don't you put your things in the back and take a seat? Castor can sit in the trunk."

"Excuse me?" Castor said, poking his head through the window. "I ain't gonna sit in the back like some wild animal."

"But you are a wild animal, deer," Arianna said.

Castor snorted grumpily and trotted to the back of the car. He leaped into the back and plopped down, pouting.

Calida opened the back door and climbed inside. She set her suitcase next to her and closed the door.

"If that's all, we're off," Principal Arnold announced, starting up the car again. He started driving back down the road.

"So, Arianna. You're here, so that means that you're one of us, too," Calida said.

"That's right. Like you, I also was told this recently."

"That's one of the things you two have in common. The other things are a bit more complicated," Principal Arnold said, his eyes on the road.

"What do you mean by that?" Arianna asked.

"Ladies, prepare yourselves for some big news," Castor said, sticking his head through the open back window.

Principal Arnold looked at the two girls, who were staring at him with curiosity on their faces.

"Well, Arianna and Calida, you two _are _half-bloods, but you weren't born to any of the gods."

"Then what the hell makes us demigods?" Calida exclaimed.

"You two were made into half-bloods by the use of a forbidden ritual called "ένωση", meaning "union." The ritual is performed on a mortal by two gods or goddesses, in which both of them combine their immortal powers into the mortal, creating a demigod."

"So it's like adoption?" Arianna asked.

"Yes, in a way, it is adoption."

Calida processed this in her mind. That ritual thing means that technically, she has parents. Parents that cared about her enough to make her one of them.

"Who are our godly parents, then?" she asked.

"Calida, your "parents" are Artemis and Aphrodite. They found you abandoned in the woods near your orphanage. And Arianna, yours are Ares and Apollo, who found you in the sand at an Australian beach."

"So, wait. We have gay parents?" Arianna asked.

"No, not at all. It does not ensure them having a romantic relationship. It is mostly just their position as your guardians."

Both of the girls took a moment to let it all sink in.

"…Are there a lot of kids who had that ritual performed on them?" Calida asked softly.

"It's called a 'forbidden ritual' for a reason, mate," Arianna said, looking behind her at Calida.

"She's right. There are not many of you out there," Principal Anderson replied.

"Well, okay. About this whole demigod thing: if we're half gods, then do we have powers or something?" Calida asked.

"Yes. But not all half-bloods are the same with their powers. Each of their powers depends on their parent, or in your case, parents."

"Then what powers do we have?"

"You will find out soon."

* * *

We will try to update every other day, if we cant then sorry.

-Breanna & Baylee


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